Off The Beaten Path
by ExplodingWeekend
Summary: Sirius made just one comment, and it changed his view of the narrow path his family kept him on. Oneshot.


A/N: I kind of like this. I'm sure it's been done like a million times over, but I hope I added at least a little variety to it.

No? Okay then.

Please review even if it's just to tell me what your favorite ice cream flavor is!

Off The Beaten Path

"Shove off, mum."

Silence followed those words and Sirius felt dread sweep over him. His palms began to sweat nervously.

Walburga Black stared down at him with a fierce look in her eye.

"What did you say to me?"

Sirius made a quick decision. Yes; this was the end of the road. He had stepped off the safety path and there was no where left to go but forward.

"Just… back off a little. I just got home and you're already drilling me on "where I've been" and "what I've been doing". It's driving me mad!"

Sirius couldn't help it that his voice went a little higher than intended on that last word. He was really walking a fine line, especially now that his father had just walked in.

"Is that any way to talk to your mother?" Walburga was almost shouting now, and her face was distinctly purple in color.

"What's going on here?" Orion Black said, attempting to place a calming hand on his wife's shoulder but getting swept aside in her fury.

Sirius was almost beside himself as well, but for a different reason. He felt the rush of power that came with this opportunity rush over him; finally he could tell his parents how sick they made him.

"I don't figure there's anything wrong with the way I'm talking to you. It's all the same, you know? Pretty hard to mess up. It's all just words, and the only way to get those words out is to move your mouth. Everyone does it the same way."

Walburga raised a hand to hit her son but another hand beat her to it. Sirius's head turned to the other side from the force of the impact, and when he looked up he saw his father's hand lowering.

He raised his own hand slowly to his cheek. The skin felt raw and hot, and just then he noticed the rings his father was wearing. Rings decorated heavily with the crest of the Black family.

It was all so ironic. It made his stomach twist. Sirius tasted blood in his mouth and spit out something onto his mother's favorite entryway rug. It felt like a tooth. He hoped it was.

His mother screeched in rage, probably at the thought of a possible stain, and Sirius laughed. Not because of the screech and how ridiculous it sounded, but at the thought of his mother more worried about her carpet than her son.

Besides, magic could fix stains. But the hatred Sirius felt in his heart right now, he wasn't sure magic could fix that. He wasn't sure anything could fix that.

Suddenly, Sirius felt a pang in his chest. He didn't want to be here right now, suffering this punishment. He wanted to be with his friends. He wanted to be with James, and Remus, and maybe even Peter. And then a flash of movement caught his eye, and he saw Regulus peeking out from behind a banister.

Sirius realized that maybe he was a little jealous of Regulus. His brother would never feel the sting of his father's hand, or the shriek of his mother's voice. Regulus was the good child, the golden child, the this-is-how-a-pureblood-is-supposed-to-act child.

And Sirius was happy for him. Because Regulus could survive in that environment, maybe even flourish in it. But if Sirius had chosen that path, he would not have been happy. He would never have met the wonderful people he had when he was sorted into Gryffindor.

Yes, that was it. His pureblood life had been over from the moment he had been sorted into Gryffindor.

A sudden thought occurred to him. If his pureblood life had been over then, maybe his life in the Black family had ceased then as well. Surely the Howler his mother had sent him on the second day of school had confirmed that?

It all suddenly became clear to Sirius. He had overstayed his welcome for far too long.

"I want to leave."

His father's harsh gaze softened a bit at those words and became confused, but his mother only looked more infuriated.

"What?" She said.

"I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to be in this family."

His mother's face was turning purple again. "You don't want to be here anymore? Fine! We don't want you here anymore! From this day on you can no longer call yourself a Black!"

Sirius walked past her calmly, ignoring his father's broken stare, intending to go to his room to pack. On the way up the staircase, he caught a glimpse of Regulus's frightened face. He suddenly wanted to reassure his brother, or at least say a goodbye.

But something kept him walking. He packed the few things he wanted and left the house in a detached state.

He showed up at the Potter residence two days later, tears streaming down his face.


End file.
